Information processing system, information processing method, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

Provided is an information processing system including: a comparison information acquisition unit that acquires comparison information regarding iris comparison generated based on an iris image including an iris of a recognition subject; and a display image generation unit that generates a display image including an image indicating a content of the comparison information in association with positions in the iris.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/470,056 filed on Jun. 14, 2019, which is aNational Stage Entry of international application PCT/JP2018/034289,filed on Sep. 14, 2018, which claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application 2017-228759 filed on Nov. 29, 2017, thedisclosures of all of which are incorporated in their entirety byreference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information processing system, aninformation processing method, and a storage medium.

BACKGROUND ART

Patent Literature 1 discloses an individual authentication system havinga unit that encodes a feature of an iris image. This individualauthentication system performs individual authentication by comparing acode of an iris image registered in advance with a code of an iris imageacquired at the time of authentication. At this time, a notificationwindow of an authentication result is displayed on a display unit of theindividual authentication system.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PTL 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-90482

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The individual authentication system disclosed in Patent Literature 1does not disclose notifying the user of information regarding iriscomparison in addition to the validness of authentication. However, itmay be desirable to notify the user of information regarding iriscomparison in association with positions in an iris.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problem andintends to provide an information processing system, an informationprocessing method, and a storage medium that can display informationregarding iris comparison in association with positions in an iris.

Solution to Problem

According to one example aspect of the present invention, provided is aninformation processing system including: a comparison informationacquisition unit that acquires comparison information regarding iriscomparison generated based on an iris image including an iris of arecognition subject; and a display image generation unit that generatesa display image including an image indicating a content of thecomparison information in association with positions in the iris.

According to another example aspect of the present invention, providedis an information processing method including: acquiring comparisoninformation regarding iris comparison generated based on an iris imageincluding an iris of a recognition subject; and generating a displayimage including an image indicating a content of the comparisoninformation in association with positions in the iris.

According to one yet another example aspect of the present invention,provided is a storage medium storing an information processing programthat causes a computer to perform: acquiring comparison informationregarding iris comparison generated based on an iris image including aniris of a recognition subject; and generating a display image includingan image indicating a content of the comparison information inassociation with positions in the iris.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide aninformation processing system, an information processing method, and astorage medium that can display information regarding iris comparison inassociation with positions in an iris.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration exampleof an information processing system according to a first exampleembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a function block diagram of the information processing systemaccording to the first example embodiment.

FIGS. 3A-3I are a schematic diagram illustrating the outline of aprocess performed by the information processing system according to thefirst example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the outline of a process performed bythe information processing system according to the first exampleembodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a display image due to the informationprocessing system according to the first example embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a display image due to the informationprocessing system according to the first example embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a display image due to the informationprocessing system according to the first example embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a display image due to an informationprocessing system according to a second example embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a display image due to the informationprocessing system according to the second example embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a display image due to the informationprocessing system according to the second example embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a display image due to the informationprocessing system according to the second example embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of a display image due to an informationprocessing system according to a third example embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a function block diagram of an information processing systemaccording to a fourth example embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary example embodiments of the present invention will be describedbelow with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, the samecomponents or corresponding components are labeled with the samereferences, and the description thereof may be omitted or simplified.

First Example Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration exampleof an information processing system 10 according to the present exampleembodiment. The information processing system 10 may be, for example, aniris recognition apparatus. Further, the information processing system10 has a function of a computer. For example, the information processingsystem 10 may be configured integrally with a desktop personal computer(PC), a laptop PC, a tablet PC, a smartphone, or the like. Theinformation processing system 10 has a function of iris comparison,which is a type of biometrics recognition. The information processingsystem 10 captures an image (an iris image) including an iris of arecognition subject and performs iris comparison by comparing thecaptured image with a registered iris image. The pattern of an iris thatadjusts the opening diameter of a pupil is unique and permanent for aperson. It is therefore possible to perform identity verification bycomparing a pattern of an iris acquired at the time of comparison withan iris image registered in advance.

The information processing system 10 may be applied to, for example,identity verification at the time of login into a PC, identityverification for entry into or departure from a country at an airport, aseaport, or a boundary, identity verification in a government office,identity verification for entry into or exit from a factory or anoffice, identity verification at the time of entry into an event site,or the like.

The information processing system 10 has a central processing unit (CPU)101, a random access memory (RAM) 102, a read only memory (ROM) 103, anda hard disk drive (HDD) 104 in order to implement functions as acomputer that performs operation and storage. Further, the informationprocessing system 10 has a communication interface (I/F) 105, a displaydevice 106, an input device 107, a light irradiation device 108, and acamera 109. The CPU 101, the RAM 102, the ROM 103, the HDD 104, thecommunication I/F 105, the display device 106, the input device 107, thelight irradiation device 108, and the camera 109 are connected to eachother via a bus 110. Note that the display device 106, the input device107, the light irradiation device 108, and the camera 109 may beconnected to the bus 110 via a drive device (not illustrated) used fordriving these devices.

While respective units forming the information processing system 10 areillustrated in FIG. 1 as an integrated device, some of the functionsthereof may be formed by an externally attached device. For example, thedisplay device 106, the input device 107, the light irradiation device108, and the camera 109 may be externally attached devices that areseparate from a part forming the function of a computer including theCPU 101 or the like. At this time, the light irradiation device 108 andthe camera 109 may be a part of an externally attached iris recognitionapparatus of the information processing system 10. In such a case, theinformation processing system 10 may be an information display apparatusfor displaying information acquired by the iris recognition apparatus.

The CPU 101 has a function of performing a predetermined operation inaccordance with a program stored in the ROM 103, the HDD 104, or thelike and controlling each unit of the information processing system 10.The RAM 102 is formed of a volatile storage medium and provides atemporary memory field required for the operation of the CPU 101. TheROM 103 is formed of a nonvolatile storage medium and stores necessaryinformation such as a program used in the operation of the informationprocessing system 10. The HDD 104 is a storage device that is formed ofa nonvolatile storage medium and stores an image captured by the camera109 or the like, an image of a recognition subject, a feature amount, orthe like.

The communication I/F 105 is a communication interface based on aspecification such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), 4G, or the like,which is a module for communicating with other devices. The displaydevice 106 is a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode(OLED) display, or the like and is used for displaying a moving image, astatic image, a text, or the like. The input device 107 is a button, atouchscreen, a keyboard, a pointing device, or the like and is used by auser to operate the information processing system 10. The display device106 and the input device 107 may be integrally formed as a touchscreen.

The light irradiation device 108 is used as a light source used forcapturing performed by the camera 109. The camera 109 can capture an eyeof a recognition subject or the like by using a light emitted from thelight irradiation device 108 and acquire an image. A digital camerausing a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor, aCharge Coupled Device (CCD) image sensor, or the like may be used as thecamera 109 so as to be suitable for image processing after capturing.

Note that a light emitted from the light irradiation device 108 is notlimited to a visible light and may be an infrared light. In such a case,the light irradiation device 108 may include a light emitting elementsuch as an infrared LED that emits an infrared light. Furthermore, thecamera 109 may include a light receiving element configured to have asensitivity to infrared rays. The light irradiation device 108irradiates an eye of a recognition subject with an infrared light andcaptures a infrared ray reflected by an iris by using the camera 109,and thereby an iris image used in iris comparison can be captured. Byacquiring an iris image by using an infrared ray, it is possible toobtain a high contrast image regardless of the color of the iris andreduce an influence of a reflection by a cornea. Note that thewavelength of an infrared ray irradiated from the light irradiationdevice 108 may be, for example, a near-infrared region around 800 nm.When the above influence is not a problem, however, the lightirradiation device 108 and the camera 109 may be devices for a visiblelight.

Note that the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is anexample, and a device other than the devices thereof may be added, orsome of the devices may not be provided. Further, some of the devicesmay be replaced with another device having a similar function.Furthermore, some of the functions may be provided by another device viaa network, or the functions forming the present example embodiment maybe implemented by being distributed in a plurality of devices. Forexample, the HDD 104 may be replaced with a solid state drive (SSD)using a semiconductor element such as a flash memory or may be replacedwith cloud storage.

FIG. 2 is a function block diagram of the information processing system10 according to the present example embodiment. The informationprocessing system 10 has an image acquisition unit 121, an iris imageextraction unit 122, a coordinate conversion unit 123, a block divisionunit 124, a feature amount calculation unit 125, a comparison unit 126,a display image generation unit 127, a display unit 128, and a storageunit 129.

The CPU 101 implements the function of the image acquisition unit 121that acquires an image of an eye of a recognition subject by controllingthe light irradiation device 108 and the camera 109. The CPU 101 loadsand executes a program stored in the ROM 103 or the like to the RAM 102and thereby implements the functions of the iris image extraction unit122, the coordinate conversion unit 123, the block division unit 124,the feature amount calculation unit 125, the comparison unit 126, andthe display image generation unit 127. The process performed by each ofthese units will be described later. The display unit 128 displays adisplay image generated by the display image generation unit 127. TheCPU 101 implements the function of the display unit 128 by controllingthe display device 106. The storage unit 129 stores data such as animage of an eye acquired by the image acquisition unit 121, an image ofan eye registered in advance, an iris image extracted therefrom, afeature amount calculated from the iris image, or the like. The CPU 101implements a function of the storage unit 129 by controlling the HDD104.

FIGS. 3A-3I are a schematic diagram illustrating the outline of theprocess performed by the information processing system 10 according tothe present example embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating theoutline of the process performed by the information processing system 10according to the present example embodiment. With reference to FIGS.3A-3I if necessary, the outline of the process performed by theinformation processing system 10 will be described along the flowchartof FIG. 4 .

In step S101 of FIG. 4 , the image acquisition unit 121 acquires animage of an eye of a recognition subject. This process corresponds toFIG. 3(a). The acquired image is stored in the storage unit 129.Typically, this image is acquired by using an infrared ray, which is agrayscale image.

In step S102 of FIG. 4 , the iris image extraction unit 122 determines aregion of an iris from the image of the eye of the recognition subjectand extracts an iris image. This process corresponds to FIG. 3(b) andFIG. 3(c).

One example of the method of determining a region of an iris will bedescribed. The iris image extraction unit 122 detects a pupil from animage of an eye and determines the position thereof. The determinedpupil position is stored in the storage unit 129. The shape of a pupilcan be approximated as a circle. Thus, a position of a pupil can beexpressed by the center coordinates and the radius of the pupil, forexample. Note that a region of a pupil can be detected by extracting apixel having brightness lower than a predetermined value, for example.

The iris image extraction unit 122 then detects an iris from the imageof the eye and determines the position of the iris. The determinedposition of the iris is stored in the storage unit 129. A shape of aniris can be approximated as a ring shape including a pupil, and thus aposition of an iris can be expressed by the center coordinates, theouter circumference radius, and the inner circumference radius of theiris, for example. The inner circumference radius of an iris correspondsto the radius of a pupil and thus may be omitted from informationindicating the position of the iris. Note that an iris can be detectedby extracting brightness change on the boundary between the outercircumference of the iris and a sclera (a so-called white of eye), forexample.

The iris image extraction unit 122 then extracts an iris image bycutting out a portion of the determined iris. The extracted iris imageis stored in the storage unit 129.

In step S103, the coordinate conversion unit 123 transforms the irisimage by performing coordinate conversion. This process corresponds toFIG. 3(d) and FIG. 3(e). As illustrated in FIG. 3(d) and FIG. 3(e), thecoordinate conversion unit 123 converts a ring-shaped iris image into arectangle. This process may be performed by converting the coordinatesystem of an iris image from an x-y plane coordinate system into an r-θpolar coordinate system, for example. Since such coordinate conversionsimplifies the shape of an iris image, the process of feature amountcalculation is simplified.

In step S104, the block division unit 124 divides the iris imageconverted to a rectangle into a plurality of blocks. This processcorresponds to FIG. 3(f). The number of divisions may be, for example,128 in the horizontal direction and 16 in the vertical direction (thatis, 2048 in total) or the like. Note that, while FIG. 3(f) expresses theiris image itself as being cut and divided into a plurality of piecesfor easier understanding, it is not essential to divide an image into aplurality of pieces. The process of step S104 may be a process toacquire a correspondence between the brightness of each block of an irisimage and the coordinates of each block, for example.

In step S105, the feature amount calculation unit 125 performs a processto calculate feature amounts on the iris image divided into a pluralityof blocks. This process corresponds to FIG. 3(g). One example of aspecific processing method of feature amount calculation will bedescribed below.

The feature amount calculation unit 125 acquires the brightness in eachblock of the iris image. At this time, a feature amount code of acertain block (hereafter, referred to as a first block) is set inaccordance with a level relationship of brightness relative to a blockwhich is right next to the first block (hereafter, referred to as asecond block). When the difference resulted by subtracting thebrightness of the second block from the brightness of the first block islarger than a first threshold, the feature amount code of the firstblock is “1”. When the difference resulted by subtracting the brightnessof the second block from the brightness of the first block is less thanor equal to the first threshold and greater than a second threshold, thefeature amount code of the first block is “2”. When the differenceresulted by subtracting the brightness of the second block from thebrightness of the first block is less than or equal to the secondthreshold, the feature amount code of the first block is “3”. In such away, the feature amount code has at least three types of values. Notethat, while three types of feature amount codes are set by using twotypes of thresholds in the example described above, the number of thetypes of thresholds is an example and may be suitably set. For example,when one type of threshold is used (only the first threshold), thefeature amount code may be two types of “1” or “2”. Further, when threeor more types of thresholds are used, the feature amount code will befour or more types such as “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”, . . . . As discussedabove, the number of types of the feature amount code may be any numberof two or more in accordance with the number of types of thresholds.

Further, when the first block or the second block is covered witheyelashes, an eyelid, or the like and unable to be used for featureamount calculation, a code other than a feature amount code set inaccordance with the level relationship of brightness may be set. As oneexample, when a feature amount code set in accordance with the levelrelationship of brightness has three types of “1”, “2”, and “3”, afeature amount code indicating that no feature amount can be calculatedmay be “4”. In such a case, the feature amount code has four types ofvalues. In the following description, the feature amount code has thefour types described above.

FIG. 3(g) illustrates a feature amount image in which feature amountcodes are depicted at respective block positions. In the feature amountimage of FIG. 3(g), values “1”, “2”, “3”, and “4” of the feature amountcode are displayed by different patterns. This display may be display inwhich the image pattern such as the color, the brightness, the pattern,or the like may be changed in accordance with the value of the code, forexample. The extracted feature amount or the extracted feature amountimage is stored in the storage unit 129.

Note that, while a positional relationship in which the second block isright next to the first block is illustrated in the example describedabove, the second block may be left next to the first block, or moregenerally, it may be a positional relationship in which the second blockis adjacent to the first block.

In step S106, the comparison unit 126 performs a process to compare afeature amount calculated in step S105 with a feature amount registeredin advance. In this process, the feature amount calculated in step S105is compared with a feature amount registered in advance to determine aregion where there is a matching (a matching region), a region wherethere is no matching (a non-matching region), and a region where nocomparison can be made (a non-comparable region). For example, a regionin which all the codes to be compared are “1” or “3” may be determinedas a matching region. A region in which one of the codes to be comparedis “1” and the other is “3” may be determined as a non-matching region.A region in which any of the codes to be compared is “4” cannot be usedfor comparison and thus may be determined as a non-comparable region.When a score of a matching degree calculated from the size or the likeof matching regions and non-matching regions exceeds a predeterminedthreshold, two iris images corresponding to two feature amounts to becompared are determined to be from the same person. A comparison resultand information on a matching region, a non-matching region, and anon-comparable region are stored in the storage unit 129. Note thatinformation on a feature amount, a matching region, a non-matchingregion, and a non-comparable region may be more generally referred to ascomparison information regarding iris comparison.

In step S107, the coordinate conversion unit 123 transforms the featureamount image by converting coordinates. This process corresponds to FIG.3(h). The coordinate conversion unit 123 converts a rectangular featureamount image into a ring shape. This process may be performed byconverting the coordinate system of a feature amount image from an r-θpolar coordinate system into an x-y plane coordinate system, forexample. Such coordinate conversion provides a feature amount image inwhich images each indicating a value of a code of each block arearranged in a ring shape so as to correspond to the position in the irisfrom which each code has been generated. The converted feature amountimage is stored in the storage unit 129.

In step S108, the display image generation unit 127 generates a displayimage including one in which the feature amount image converted in thering shape is superimposed on the image of the eye of the comparisonsubject acquired by step S101. This process corresponds to FIG. 3(i).The generated display image is stored in the storage unit 129. Note thatan image of an eye may be a photograph of an eye of a recognitionsubject acquired for iris authentication as illustrated in FIG. 3(i) butnot limited thereto and may be an image of other's eye or a drawing ofan eye, for example.

In step S109, the display unit 128 reads a display image from thestorage unit 129 and displays the display image. In the following, adisplay image displayed on the display unit 128 will be described inmore detail.

FIG. 5 is an example of a display image displayed on the display unit128. In the display image, a display region 301 provided with a captionof “Probe Image” and a display region 302 provided with a caption of“Gallery Image” are displayed so as to be arranged side by side. Thedisplay region 301 is a region that displays an image of an eye acquiredat comparison and the feature amount thereof. The image generated instep S108 is displayed in the display region 301. The display region 302is a region that displays an image of a pre-registered eye and thefeature amount thereof.

A display region 303 is displayed below the display region 302. Amatching degree “Score” in comparison, an angle correction value of aniris image “Angle”, and a comparison result are displayed in the displayregion 303. As illustrated in FIG. 5 , the value of the matching degreeis 2967 in this example. This value is greater than a predetermineddetermination threshold and thus indicates that two images of eyes arefrom the same person. Thus, a matching “Hit!” is displayed as acomparison result in the display region 303. Note that, when acomparison result is non-matching, “NoHit” instead of “Hit!” isdisplayed in the display region 303. By confirming the matching degree,the user of the information processing system 10 can check a reliabilityof the iris comparison. The information processing system 10 has afunction that, when the face is inclined at the time of acquisition ofan iris image, rotates an iris image in order to correct theinclination. An angle correction value of an iris image indicates anangle correction value when this rotation is performed. As illustratedin FIG. 5 , the angle correction value of the iris image is 0 degree inthis example.

A display region 304 is displayed below the display region 301. A filename “File name” and an extraction quality of a feature amount (Quality)are displayed in the display region 304. The file name may be, forexample, a file name of an iris image, a file name of a feature amountconverted from an iris image, or a file name of a set of an iris imageand a feature amount. The extraction quality of a feature amount is anevaluation value indicating the quality of a feature amount calculatedbased on a criterion, such as an area of a region other than anon-comparable region, which is determined in terms of accuracy of iriscomparison, for example. By checking this evaluation value, the user ofthe information processing system 10 can check whether or not conversionof a feature amount is appropriately performed. Further, a displayregion 305 is displayed below the display region 303. The display region304 and the display region 305 are displayed so as to be arranged sideby side. Since the content of the display region 305 is the same as thatof the display region 304, the description thereof will be omitted.

A display region 306 is displayed below the display region 304. Afeature amount of an image of an eye acquired at comparison is displayedin the display region 306. Unlike the feature amount displayed in thedisplay region 301, the feature amount displayed in the display region306 is a feature amount of a rectangle on which coordinate conversionhas not yet been performed. Further, a display region 307 is displayedbelow the display region 305. A feature amount of an image of an eyeregistered in advance is displayed in the display region 307. Thedisplay region 306 and the display region 307 are displayed so as to bearranged side by side. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5 , a caption of“Template” is provided to each of the display regions 306 and 307.

Pieces of information corresponding to an image of an eye acquired atcomparison “Prove Image” are arranged vertically and displayed in theleft in the display image, and pieces of information corresponding to animage of an eye registered in advance “Gallery Image” are arrangedvertically and displayed in the right in the display image. Thus, theuser of the information processing system 10 can understand informationregarding iris comparison at a glance.

FIG. 6 is a display example of the display regions 301 and 302 when irisimages from the same person are compared. The feature amounts indicatedin the display regions 301 and 302 are captured at different timings andthus are not fully matched. For example, the range of a non-comparableregion is different from each other due to eyelashes. When the insideparts of circles surrounded by dotted lines in FIG. 6 are focused on,however, it can be seen that the patterns of the feature amountsindicated in the display regions 301 and 302 are substantially matched.

FIG. 7 is a display example of the display regions 301 and 302 when irisimages from different persons are compared. When the inside parts ofcircles surrounded by dotted lines in FIG. 7 are focused on, it can beseen that the patterns of the feature amounts indicated in the displayregions 301 and 302 are different from each other.

In such a way, the information processing system 10 can display afeature amount image in association with positions in an iris of arecognition subject. Thus, the user of the information processing system10 may know not only information on a comparison result but alsospecific information as to which position and what degree the featureamount is matched. Thereby, the user may further know informationregarding a matching region, a non-matching region, or a non-comparableregion of the feature amount for each position in an iris.

The advantages in the user of the information processing system 10obtaining the above information will be described. As described above,when feature amounts are extracted from an iris image, the shape isoften transformed for the purpose of increasing efficiency of processingor the like. In such a case, even if the obtained feature amounts aredisplayed, the correspondence between the feature amounts and positionsin the iris may be unknown, and thus such display may be not so usefulfor the user. In contrast, since the information processing system 10 ofthe present example embodiment transforms a feature amount image into aring shape and then displays the transformed image in association withpositions in an iris of a recognition subject, the user may clearlyunderstand the correspondence between the feature amounts and thepositions in the iris.

A case where it is desirable for the user to understand thecorrespondence between feature amounts and positions in an iris will bedescribed with some examples. When eyelashes, a hair, an eyelid, or thelike of a recognition subject overlaps an iris, no accurate comparisonresult may be obtained. At this time, it is not always easy to identifythe cause of being unable to obtain an accurate comparison result fromonly the comparison result. When eyelashes, a hair, an eyelid, or thelike overlaps an iris, typically, non-matching regions or non-comparableregions concentrate in the upper side in an iris. In such a way, when noaccurate comparison result is obtained, a feature may often appear at aposition in the non-matching region or the non-comparable region.Accordingly, by identifying from the information processing system 10which location a non-matching region or a non-comparable region islocated in, the user can determine whether or not a comparison result iscorrect.

Another example will be described. Identity verification automaticallyperformed by an iris recognition apparatus is not always reliable.Accordingly, in a situation where it is necessary to carefully performidentity verification, a human may finally review the comparison detailsuch as a matching part or the like in addition to an automaticcomparison performed by the information processing system 10. Thus, afunction of visually reviewing a feature amount may be desired. In sucha case, even if feature amounts in rectangles used for comparison aredisplayed, it is not easy for a human viewing this display to identifywhich location of an iris the patterns are matched and perform the finalconfirmation of the comparison detail. However, since the informationprocessing system 10 of the present example embodiment transforms afeature amount image into a ring shape fitted to the shape of an iris,it is possible to easily identify which location in the iris the patternis matched.

As described above, according to the present example embodiment, it ispossible to provide an information processing system, an informationprocessing method, and an information processing program that candisplay information regarding iris comparison in more detail.

Note that the method of generating a display image of the presentexample embodiment may be used regardless of a method of extracting afeature amount. When a scheme involving convolution such as a GaborFilter is used, however, the correspondence between resulted coordinatesof a code of a feature amount and coordinates of a pixel of an image maybe partially lost. In contrast, since the scheme of step S105 describedabove does not perform convolution, the correspondence of featureamounts and positions in an iris can be less likely to be lost.

Each of images of eyes displayed in the display regions 301 and 302 maybe one obtained by scaling up or scaling down an image actuallycaptured. Thereby, an image of an eye acquired at comparison and animage of an eye acquired at registration can be displayed as of the samesize even when the original sizes thereof are different from each other.At this time, by setting the magnification of scale up or scale down soas to have substantially the same size of irises, the visual sizes ofthe images of the eyes can be closer.

As described in the illustration of FIG. 3(i) and step S108, although itis possible to allow the user to easily know the positionalcorrespondence between feature amounts and an iris by superimposingfeature amounts on an image of an eye, this is not essential. The formof the present example embodiment is not limited to the above as long assuch display in which the content of comparison information istransformed into a form by which the correspondence with respect topositions in the iris is known is performed. For example, theconfiguration of the present example embodiment may be modified so thata feature amount image transformed into a ring shape as illustrated inFIG. 3(h) is displayed on the display unit 128 without beingsuperimposed on an image of an eye. In such a case, a process can besimplified.

Second Example Embodiment

Another display example of a display image will be described as a secondexample embodiment with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 11 . Since elementsother than a screen displayed on the display unit 128 are the same asthose in the first example embodiment, the description thereof will beomitted. Further, also for the configuration of a display screen,description of features duplicated with the first example embodimentwill be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a display example of a display image when iris images of thesame person are compared. The difference between the present exampleembodiment and the first example embodiment is in that, instead of thefeature amounts, matching regions R1 and non-matching regions R2 of thefeature amount are displayed on the display regions 301, 302, 306, and307. The display of the matching region R1 and the non-matching regionR2 may be displayed by being colored in different colors, for example.Even by referencing to the display regions 306 and 307 of FIG. 8 , it isnot easy to identify which portion of the iris is matched. However, byreferencing the distribution of the matching regions R1 of the displayregions 301 and 302, it is easy to identify that the lower parts of theiris are substantially matched. Although there are many non-matchingregions R2 in the upper parts of the iris, it is understood from thephotographs of the eyes in the display regions 301 and 302 that this isbecause an upper eyelid and eyelashes overlap the iris.

Note that, as illustrated in the display region 303, the value of thematching degree “Score” is 3265 and larger than the value in the case ofnon-matching described above. Further, a matching “Hit!” is displayed asa comparison result. These enable the user to identify that thecomparison result obtained by the information processing system 10corresponds to the same person.

FIG. 9 is a display example of a display image when iris images ofdifferent persons are compared. Substantially the entire region of theiris is classified as the non-matching region R2, and there issubstantially no matching region R1. Thus, the user can identify thatthe two iris images are actually from different persons.

Note that, as illustrated in the display region 303, the value of thematching degree “Score” is 0, which is the value indicating anon-matching. Further, a non-matching “NoHit” is displayed as acomparison result. These enable the user to identify that the comparisonresult obtained by the information processing system 10 is anon-matching.

As described above, also in the present example embodiment, it ispossible to provide an information processing system, an informationprocessing method, and an information processing program that candisplay information regarding iris comparison in more detail. Further,by displaying the matching region R1 and the non-matching region R2 notin a form of feature amounts but in a direct manner, the user mayidentify comparison information more intuitively than the case of thefirst example embodiment.

In the present example embodiment, a non-comparable region may befurther distinguished from the matching region R1 and the non-matchingregion R2 and displayed. In such a case, the matching region R1, thenon-matching region R2, and the non-comparable region may be displayedby being colored in different colors. This enables the user to furtherobtain information on the non-comparable region. Alternatively, any twoof the matching region R1, the non-matching region R2, and thenon-comparable region may have the same color. Also in this case, oneregion and the remaining regions can be distinguished and displayed.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 10 , the configuration of the presentexample embodiment may be modified so that the display of thenon-matching region R2 and the non-comparable region is omitted and onlythe matching region R1 is colored and displayed. Furthermore, asillustrated in FIG. 11 , the configuration of the present exampleembodiment may be modified so that the display of the matching region R1and the non-comparable region is omitted and only the non-matchingregion R2 is colored and displayed. In such a way, the display scheme ofthe present example embodiment may be one indicating an image of an eyecolored in a predetermined color for at least one of the matchingregion, the non-matching region, and the non-comparable region.

Further, the matching region R1 and the non-matching region R2 may besuperimposed on the display of feature amounts described in the firstexample embodiment and displayed. In such a case, the matching region R1and the non-matching region R2 may be displayed as a semitransparentcolored region. This enables the user to obtain both information onfeature amounts and information on the matching region R1 and thenon-matching region R2.

As illustrated in FIG. 8 to FIG. 11 , although it is possible to allowthe user to easily known the positional correspondence between featureamounts and an iris by superimposing the matching region R1, thenon-matching region R2, or the non-comparable region on an image of aneye, this is not essential. The form of the present example embodimentis not limited to the above as long as such display in which the contentof comparison information is transformed into a form by which thecorrespondence with respect to positions in the iris is known isperformed. For example, the configuration of the present exampleembodiment may be modified so that the matching region R1, thenon-matching region R2, or the non-comparable region is displayed on thedisplay unit 128 without images arranged in a ring shape beingsuperimposed on an image of an eye. At this time, the region displayedon the display unit 128 may be at least one of the matching region R1,the non-matching region R2, and the non-comparable region. In such acase, a process can be simplified.

Note that the determination of the matching region R1, the non-matchingregion R2, and the non-comparable region may be performed in the samemanner as the process of the comparison unit 126 described in theillustration of step S106 in the first example embodiment. That is, aregion in which blocks having “1” for all the codes to be compared andblocks having “3” for all the codes to be compared are combined may beset as the matching region R1. A region in which blocks having “1” forone of the codes to be compared and “3” for the other are combined maybe set as the non-matching region R2. A region in which blocks having“4” for any of the codes to be compared are combined may be determinedas non-comparable region.

Third Example Embodiment

Another display example of a display image will be described as a thirdexample embodiment with reference to FIG. 12 . Since elements other thana screen displayed on the display unit 128 are the same as those in thefirst example embodiment or the second example embodiment, thedescription thereof will be omitted. Further, also for the configurationof a display screen, description of features duplicated with the firstexample embodiment or the second example embodiment will be omitted.FIG. 12 is a display example of a display image when iris images of thesame person are compared.

FIG. 12 is a display example of a display image when iris images of thesame person are compared. The difference between the present exampleembodiment and the second example embodiment is in that angle indicationlines L1 each indicating an angle of an eye are displayed. Capturing ofan image of an eye for iris comparison is not always performed an idealcapturing environment. Thus, an inclined image as illustrated in thedisplay region 301 may be captured. The information processing system 10has an angle correction function to address such a case and performscomparison taking the inclination into consideration. The display region303 indicates that the angle correction value “Angle” of an iris imageis −14 degrees. On the other hand, the user reviewing the display imagemay not identify that one of the images of the eye is inclined, and theiris images may appear to be those from different persons. Thus, in thepresent example embodiment, by displaying the angle indication lines L1each indicating the angle of the eye, it is possible to allow the userto identify that an iris image is inclined. Further, at this time, atleast one of the images displayed in the display region 301 “Probeimage” and the display region 302 “Gallery image” may be rotated so asto reduce the difference in angle. Specifically, at least one of theimages of eyes displayed in the display regions 301 and 302 may berotated and displayed so that the positions of the angle indicationlines L1 are matched. By displaying images having closer angles, evenwhen one of the captured iris images is inclined, the user may moreintuitively identify whether or not the iris images are from the sameperson.

As described above, also in the present example embodiment, it ispossible to provide an information processing system, an informationprocessing method, and an information processing program that candisplay information regarding iris comparison in more detail. Further,by displaying the angle indication lines L1, the user may correctlyidentify the inclination of an iris image.

The information processing system described in the above exampleembodiments can be configured as with a fourth example embodiment below.

Fourth Example Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a function block diagram of an information processing system50 according to the fourth example embodiment. The informationprocessing system 50 has a comparison information acquisition unit 520and a display image generation unit 527. The comparison informationacquisition unit 520 acquires comparison information regarding iriscomparison generated based on an iris image including an iris of arecognition subject. The display image generation unit 527 generates adisplay image used for displaying comparison information imageindicating a content of the comparison information on a display devicein association with positions in the iris.

According to the present example embodiment, it is possible to providean information processing system that can display information regardingiris comparison in more detail.

MODIFIED EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is not limited to the example embodiment describedabove but can be changed as appropriate within a range not departingfrom the spirit of the present invention.

In each of the example embodiments described above, acquisition of animage used in iris comparison may be performed on one of the eyes or maybe performed on both of the eyes of an authentication subject.Advantages of improvement of a processing speed and reduction in astorage capacity are obtained when an image of one of the eyes iscaptured, and an advantage of improvement of authentication accuracy isobtained when images of both of the eyes are acquired.

While the information processing systems used in iris comparison hasbeen illustrated as examples in each of the above example embodiments,the present invention is also applicable to biometrics recognition otherthan iris comparison by appropriately changing the configuration of theexample embodiment. For example, the present invention is alsoapplicable to vein recognition in which the pattern of a vein of a palm,a finger, or the like is recognized to perform identity verification. Inthe case of vein recognition of a palm, the same display as that in thecase of iris comparison can be performed by the content of comparisoninformation being superimposed on an image of a palm and displayed.Further, the present invention is also applicable to voice recognitionin which a voiceprint indicating a feature of frequency characteristicsof a voice is recognized to perform identity verification. In this case,the same display as that in the case of iris comparison can be performedby the content of comparison information being superimposed on an imageof a voiceprint and displayed.

The scope of each example embodiment also includes a processing methodof storing, in a storage medium, a program that causes the configurationof the example embodiment to operate to implement the function of theexample embodiment described above, reading out as a code the programstored in the storage medium, and executing the code in a computer. Thatis, a computer readable storage medium is also included in the scope ofeach example embodiment. Further, not only the storage medium in whichthe program described above is stored but also the program itself isincluded in each example embodiment. Further, one or more componentsincluded in the example embodiments described above may be a circuitsuch as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like configured to implement thefunction of each component.

As the storage medium, for example, a floppy (registered trademark)disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CompactDisk (CD)-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, or a ROM canbe used. Further, the scope of each of the example embodiments includesan example that operates on Operating System (OS) to perform a processin cooperation with another software or a function of an add-in boardwithout being limited to an example that performs a process by anindividual program stored in the storage medium.

The service implemented by the function of each example embodimentdescribed above can be provided to the user in a form of Software as aService (SaaS).

Note that all the example embodiments described above are mere examplesof embodiment in implementing the present invention, and the technicalscope of the present invention should not be construed in a limitingsense by these example embodiments. That is, the present invention canbe implemented in various forms without departing from the technicalconcept thereof or the primary feature thereof.

The whole or part of the example embodiments disclosed above can bedescribed as, but not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

(Supplementary Note 1)

An information processing system comprising:

a comparison information acquisition unit that acquires comparisoninformation regarding iris comparison generated based on an iris imageincluding an iris of a recognition subject; and

a display image generation unit that generates a display image includingan image indicating a content of the comparison information inassociation with positions in the iris.

(Supplementary Note 2)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 1,wherein the display image includes an image in which the content of thecomparison information is superimposed on an image of an eye.

(Supplementary Note 3)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 1 or2, wherein the display image includes an image in which the content ofthe comparison information is superimposed on a photograph of an eye ofthe recognition subject used in the iris comparison.

(Supplementary Note 4)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 3, wherein the display image includes an image indicating thecontent of the comparison information in association with positions inthe iris by arranging the content of the comparison information in ashape of the iris.

(Supplementary Note 5)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 4, wherein the display image includes an image indicatingfeature amounts extracted from the iris image.

(Supplementary Note 6)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 5,

wherein the feature amounts include a plurality of blocks associatedwith the positions in the iris, and

wherein a code extracted from the iris image is set for each of theplurality of blocks.

(Supplementary Note 7)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 6,wherein the code has one value selected from at least three types ofvalues.

(Supplementary Note 8)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 6 or7, wherein the code is extracted based on brightness of the iris image.

(Supplementary Note 9)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 6 to 8,

wherein the plurality of blocks include a first block and a second blockadjacent to the first block, and

wherein the code in the first block has a value based on a differencebetween brightness of the iris image corresponding to the first blockand brightness of the iris image corresponding to the second block.

(Supplementary Note 10)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 9,wherein the code in the first block has a value based on a predeterminedthreshold and a difference between brightness of the iris imagecorresponding to the first block and brightness of the iris imagecorresponding to the second block.

(Supplementary Note 11)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 6 to 10, wherein at least one of a matching region, a non-matchingregion, and a non-comparable region in the iris comparison is determinedbased on the code.

(Supplementary Note 12)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 6 to 11, wherein the display image includes an image in whichimages each indicating a value of the code are arranged in a ring shapeso as to correspond to the positions in the iris.

(Supplementary Note 13)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 5 to 12, wherein the display image includes display of informationindicating an extraction quality of the feature amounts.

(Supplementary Note 14)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 13, wherein the display image includes an image indicating atleast one of a matching region, a non-matching region, and anon-comparable region in the iris comparison.

(Supplementary Note 15)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 14,wherein at least one of the matching region, the non-matching region,and the non-comparable region is indicated by coloring an image of aneye in a predetermined color.

(Supplementary Note 16)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 15, wherein the display image includes an image indicatingcontents of two pieces of the comparison information corresponding totwo iris images compared in the iris comparison.

(Supplementary Note 17)

The information processing system according to supplementary note 16,wherein at least one of the contents of the two pieces of comparisoninformation is rotated so as to reduce a difference in angle between thetwo iris image.

(Supplementary Note 18)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 17, wherein the display image includes display of informationindicating a matching degree of the iris comparison.

(Supplementary Note 19)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 18, wherein the display image includes display of informationindicating an angle of the iris image.

(Supplementary Note 20)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 19, wherein the display image includes an image in which animage indicating an angle of the iris image is superimposed on an imageof an eye.

(Supplementary Note 21)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 20 further comprising a comparison unit that performs theiris comparison and generates the comparison information.

(Supplementary Note 22)

The information processing system according to any one of supplementarynotes 1 to 21 further comprising a display unit that displays thedisplay image.

(Supplementary Note 23)

An information processing method comprising:

acquiring comparison information regarding iris comparison generatedbased on an iris image including an iris of a recognition subject; and

generating a display image including an image indicating a content ofthe comparison information in association with positions in the iris.

(Supplementary Note 24)

A storage medium storing an information processing program that causes acomputer to perform:

acquiring comparison information regarding iris comparison generatedbased on an iris image including an iris of a recognition subject; and

generating a display image including an image indicating a content ofthe comparison information in association with positions in the iris.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   10, 50 information processing system-   101 CPU-   102 RAM-   103 ROM-   104 HDD-   105 communication I/F-   106 display device-   107 input device-   108 light irradiation device-   109 camera-   110 bus-   121 image acquisition unit-   122 iris image extraction unit-   123 coordinate conversion unit-   124 block division unit-   125 feature amount calculation unit-   126 comparison unit-   127, 527 display image generation unit-   128 display unit-   129 storage unit-   301-307 display region-   520 comparison information acquisition unit-   L1 angle display line-   R1 matching region-   R2 non-matching region

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatuscomprising: a memory configured to store instructions; and a processorconfigured to execute the instructions to: acquire first feature amountinformation of an iris extracted from a first iris image and secondfeature amount information of the iris extracted from a second irisimage; generate a first image in which the first feature amountinformation extracted from the first iris image is associated with thefirst iris image; generate a second image in which the second featureamount information extracted from the second iris image is associatedwith the second iris image; and output the first image and the secondimage so that the first image and the second image are displayed side byside, wherein at least one of the first image and the second imagedisplayed side by side is rotated so as to reduce an angle between thefirst image and the second image.
 2. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to execute the instructions to: output an image indicating anangle of the first iris image.
 3. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured toexecute the instructions to: output an image indicating an angle of thefirst iris image, the image being superimposed on the first iris image.4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe first feature amount information and the second feature amountinformation include a plurality of blocks associated with positions inthe iris, and wherein a code extracted from the first iris image and thesecond iris image is set for each of the plurality of blocks.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the codehas one value selected from at least three types of values.
 6. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the codeis extracted based on a brightness of the first iris image.
 7. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein theplurality of blocks image include a first block and a second blockadjacent to the first block, and wherein the code in the first block hasa value based on a difference between a brightness of the first irisimage corresponding to the first block and a brightness of the firstiris image corresponding to the second block.
 8. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the code in the firstblock has a value based on a predetermined threshold and a differencebetween the brightness of the first iris image corresponding to thefirst block and the brightness of the first iris image corresponding tothe second block.
 9. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 4, wherein at least one of a matching region, a non-matchingregion, and a non-comparable region is determined based on the code. 10.The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein thefirst image and the second image each include image regions that eachindicate a value of the code and that are arranged in a ring shape so asto correspond to the positions in the iris.
 11. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein display ofinformation indicating an extraction quality of the first and secondfeature amount information is output.
 12. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first imageand the second image includes an image indicating at least one of amatching region, a non-matching region, and a non-comparable region, theat least one of the matching region, the non-matching region, and thenon-comparable region being superimposed on at least one of the firstfeature amount information and the second feature amount information.13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12, whereinat least one of the matching region, the non-matching region, and thenon-comparable region is indicated by coloring of an eye in apredetermined color.
 14. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein display of information indicating a matching degreeis output.
 15. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute theinstructions to display the first image and the second image.
 16. Aninformation processing method comprising: acquiring, by a processor,first feature amount information of an iris extracted from a first irisimage and second feature amount information of the iris extracted from asecond iris image; generating, by the processor, a first image in whichthe first feature amount information extracted from the first iris imageis associated with the first iris image; generating, by the processor, asecond image in which the second feature amount information extractedfrom the second iris image is associated with the second iris image; andoutputting, by the processor, the first image and the second image sothat the first image and the second image are displayed side by side,wherein at least one of the first image and the second image displayedside by side is rotated so as to reduce an angle between the first imageand the second image.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored therein a program executable by a computer for performinga method comprising: acquiring first feature amount information of aniris extracted from a first iris image and second feature amountinformation of the iris extracted from a second iris image; generating afirst image in which the first feature amount information extracted fromthe first iris image is associated with the first iris image; generatinga second image in which the second feature amount information extractedfrom the second iris image is associated with the second iris image; andoutputting the first image and the second image so that the first imageand the second image are displayed side by side, wherein at least one ofthe first image and the second image displayed side by side is rotatedso as to reduce an angle between the first image and the second image.18. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, whereinthe plurality of blocks include a third block and a fourth blockadjacent to the third block, and wherein the code in the third block hasa value based on a difference between a brightness of the second irisimage corresponding to the third block and a brightness of the secondiris image corresponding to the fourth block.
 19. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the code in thethird block has a value based on a predetermined threshold and adifference between the brightness of the second iris image correspondingto the third block and the brightness of the second iris imagecorresponding to the fourth block.